Department for Transport

Trains: Sanitation

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 19 November (HL3374), what assessment they have made of the mechanisms that are available to passengers in order to bring pressure on franchised train operators to ensure that appropriate toilet facilities are provided.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Government is continually trying to improve passenger experience both on train and at station. Train operators have commitments in their franchise agreements for achieving improved levels of customer experience standards and accessibility, including appropriate toilet facilities.During the consultation phase of the franchise competition passengers and other stakeholder groups have the opportunity to contribute towards these specifications.During the life of the franchise, operators are measured against the national rail passenger survey scores which measures against the cleanliness of toilet facilities on trains and at stations.Above this during the life of the franchise, operators are encouraged to seek continuous improvement to their service offering which government supports through various funding opportunities.

Railways: Tickets

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what arrangements train operating companies are required to have in place to allow passengers on feeder services to a mainline hub station who have bought advance tickets online which start from a station without a ticket machine, and where the tickets have to be acquired at the mainline hub station, to travel by using booking confirmations that have been printed out, or can be shown on mobile devices, or by other means.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The National Rail Conditions of Carriage (NRCoC) states that Train Operating Companies must make tickets and reservations available at stations, over the internet or by telephone as appropriate.When booking Advance tickets online most train operators give passengers the choice to print their ticket at home, collect it from a ticket machine, receive it by post or, where available, download their ticket onto a mobile phone.If a passenger chooses to collect from a ticket machine the train operator will give the passenger a choice of stations with ticket collection points available. These can be collected any time in advance of travel.Passengers do have an obligation to have a valid ticket for the whole of the journey, and to keep their ticket safe. The NRCoC states that it is the ticket, not the receipt for it, which gives the right to travel.

West Coast Railway Line

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the reasons for the delay in the refranchising process for the West Coast Main Line.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The re-timing will ensure that passengers and taxpayers get the maximum possible benefits from both the InterCity West Coast (ICWC) franchise and the HS2 project.We are re-timing the ICWC franchise to ensure that it is well aligned with the HS2 programme which is currently progressing through Parliament. The ICWC operator will play an important role during the construction of HS2 and in facilitating the introduction of High Speed services in 2026. This retiming will allow us to continue to engage with the market on the best options for the franchise to do this.

South Wales Railway Line

Baroness Randerson: To ask Her Majesty’s Government in what year they estimate that the electrification of the rail line from Cardiff to Swansea will be completed.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Sir Peter Hendy’s report to the Secretary of State on the 25 November 2015 outlined the re-profiling of the electrification of Great Western Route, and confirmed the electrification of the rail line from Cardiff to Swansea is expected to be completed within Control Period 6. This project is at an early stage of development and no single option has been identified. Network Rail continues to develop this vital scheme.

Home Office

Immigration Controls

Lord Crisp: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to review their current immigration policies to enable universities, research institutes, and other science and health-based organisations to recruit talent globally.

Lord Crisp: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to review the current visa categories and visa application processes to help foster international research collaborations, in particular in the health and science sectors.

Lord Bates: Our current immigration policies, categories and processes already explicitly take account of the needs of academics, scientists and researchers. We have consistently protected and enhanced the treatment of these roles in the immigration system, even whilst restricting migration in other spheres.In Tier 2, the skilled work route, we have given PhD level roles, which include academics, scientists and researchers, higher priority when allocating places within the annual limit and relaxed rules relating to recruitment and settlement. We have introduced the Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) route for world leaders in science, engineering, humanities, the arts and digital technology, and several universities and research organisations are making use of this route. The Tier 5 (Temporary Work) route contains provisions to enable sponsored researchers to participate in international research collaborations, and for overseas medical and dental post-graduates to undertake training in the UK.The immigration system also supports the health sector, with several health professions, including doctors in emergency medicine, included on the Shortage Occupation List (SOL). Nurses have been added to the SOL as a temporary measure, pending a full review of the evidence by the independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC).We keep all immigration routes under review to ensure they are working effectively in line with the Government’s migration objectives. For the future, we have commissioned the MAC to advise on restricting Tier 2 to genuine skills shortages and jobs which require highly-specialised experts, but with sufficient flexibility to include high value roles and key public service workers. We await the MAC’s report with interest and will consider it carefully before making any significant changes.

Immigration: Detention Centres

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government on how many occasions the fire brigade has been called to an incident at a migrant detention centre in each of the last five years.

Lord Bates: Information for the complete data period requested is not held centrally.Provisional management information available on the number of attendances by the fire brigade for fires at immigration removal centres from January 2013 is provided below in line with the period for published statistics:Jan to Dec 2013 - 12 incidentsJan to Dec 2014 - 10 incidentsJan to Sep 2015 - 8 incidentsAttendances by the fire brigade for incidents other than fires during the same data period could only be provided by examination of individual records so this information cannot be provided except at disproportionate cost.

Passports: Interviews

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many personal interviews with adults applying for a passport for the first time have been conducted in each year since such interviews were required, and what has been the total cost of conducting those interviews.

Lord Bates: The 2007-08 information below reflects the pilot and roll out of the Interview offices across this period of time. The increase in costs in 2008-09 reflects the final locations and staff starting. The reduction in costs between 2011 and 2012 reflects the reduction in locations.Financial Year Number of InterviewsEstate and staff costs (£)2007-0885,05131,915,2732008-09261,43837,316,4402009-10297,57536,756,5422010-11296,31231,087,0142011-12257,51810,289,9412012-13283,3419,269,8022013-14277,5608,946,213

Passports: Interviews

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many adults applying for a passport for the first time have failed to attend their scheduled personal interview in each year since such interviews were required.

Lord Bates: The numbers given reflect the number of interviews where the applicant failed to attend.An applicant is given three attempts to book and attend an interview. If they fail to attend 3 times then we can withdraw their application.From 2008 to 2009 information on failed interviews was held in each Interview Office and not collated or transformed into centrally held data.Financial Year Number of interviews where applicant did not attend2009-1048872010-1145422011-1234422012-1346232013-1439672014-154414

Passports: Interviews

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many passport interview offices there were in each year since adults applying for the first time for a passport were required to attend a personal interview.

Lord Bates: The table below shows the maximum number of interview locations available in each year. The introduction of passport interview offices on 3rd party sites reflects the move to sharing interview locations with 3rd parties, mainly Local Authorities, where previously HM Passport Office had its own site.Calendar Year Maximum number of passport interview officesMaximum number of passport interview offices on 3rd party siteTotal maximum number2008670672009670672010650652011550552012231134201322113320142211332015221133

Immigrants: Detainees

Lord Scriven: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress has been made in preventing the bullying, harassment and abuse of LGBTI people in immigration detention centres, in the light of the recent inquiry into the use of immigration detention in the UK by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Refugees and the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Migration, and of concerns expressed by the UK Lesbian and Gay Immigration Group.

Lord Bates: We take the welfare of our detainees very seriously and no form of ill-treatment or discrimination is tolerated.On 9 February 2015 the Home Secretary announced an independent review of welfare in detention, led by Stephen Shaw CBE, which will focus on vulnerable detainees.We will come back to this House before Committee stage of the Immigration Bill to respond to this report.Guidance for staff in the immigration detention estate is being updated to include a new detention services order on the care and management of LGB detainees in immigration removal centres and the existing detention services order on transsexual detainees will be updated to include guidance on intersex detainees.

Asylum: LGBT People

Lord Scriven: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress has been made in the review of countries designated under section 94(5) of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 following the Supreme Court judgment in R (JB (Jamaica)) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2015] UKSC 8.

Lord Bates: The process of reviewing all the designated countries is nearing completion. Any proposals for changes to the designation of countries must be made by order and so will be put to Parliament.

Asylum: LGBT People

Lord Scriven: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress they have made in ensuring that management and statistical information concerning asylum claims on grounds of sexuality and gender identity are recorded accurately and comprehensively by the Home Office, and when that data will be published.

Lord Bates: We are still looking into the feasibility of publishing figures on the number of asylum applications by sexual orientation of the applicants. Any plans to publish will be subject to the data being of appropriate quality, in accordance with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.

Refugees: Syria

Lord Scriven: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what vulnerability criteria are being used by the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation Scheme.

Lord Bates: The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) identifies people most in need of resettlement under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme based on the following criteria: women and girls at risk; survivors of violence and/or torture; refugees with legal and/or physical protection needs; refugees with medical needs or disabilities; children and adolescents at risk; persons at risk due to their sexual orientation or gender identity; and refugees with family links in resettlement countries.

Refugees: Syria

Lord Scriven: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether LGBTI people who are at risk are included in the vulnerability criteria of the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation Scheme; and if so, what steps they are taking to identify vulnerable LGBTI people in refugee camps or places of displacement, and what resources and services will be provided to LGBTI refugees resettled to the UK in order to address their specific needs.

Lord Bates: The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees' (UNHCR’s) vulnerability criteria for identifying refugees under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme include persons at risk due to their sexual orientation or gender identity, and LGBTI refugees are identified through their normal screening procedures.Local authorities are provided with full case details of all referrals so they can make an assessment of the needs of refugees, before deciding whether to accept them for resettlement. Whilst the Government provides funding to ensure these needs can be met, it is up to individual local authorities to decide how this should be achieved.

Immigration: Appeals

Lord Scriven: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the Upper Tribunal’s decision in MSM (journalists; political opinion; risk) Somalia [2015] UKUT 00413 (IAC), what plans they have immediately to revise their country-specific bulletins, and how they will now apply their discretion to asylum and immigration cases.

Lord Bates: We do not believe our country specific bulletins are at odds with the Upper Tribunal’s decision in MSM (Somalia) such that they require urgent revision. However, we are constantly reviewing our country information and guidance to ensure we reflect the most up-to-date situation and caselaw.A fundamental principle of the 1951 Refugee Convention is that each case is considered on its own merits. That is the approach taken by the Home Office.

Visas: Overseas Students

Baroness Rebuck: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to reintroduce automatic post-study work visas, in particular for postgraduate international students working at recognised higher education institutions in the UK.

Lord Bates: We have an excellent post-study offer for international graduates seeking to undertake skilled work in the UK after their studies. There is no limit on the number who can remain, if they secure a graduate job paying an appropriate salary.The Government has no plans to reintroduce the Tier 1 (Post Study Work) visa, which saw large numbers of fraudulent applications and graduates who remained unemployed or in low-skilled work. We closed this visa category in 2012 and have replaced it with a more selective system.

Overseas Domestic Workers Visa Independent Review

Baroness Hamwee: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will publish the report by James Ewins of his review of the overseas domestic workers visa, and their response to it, before the Immigration Bill 2015 receives its second reading in this House.

Lord Bates: Mr Ewins’s report has been submitted to the Home Office and will be published shortly. The Government will announce its response to the report in due course.

Refugees: France

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they have taken, in conjunction with the government of France, (1) to enable refugees now in France to come to Britain, such as for family re-union, and how many have come since 2013; (2) to assist those in irregular camps to apply for asylum in France; and (3) to register unaccompanied refugee children, wherever they may be; and what plans they have for further action.

Lord Bates: All migrants, including families and children, in Calais who wish to seek asylum should do so in France. We will consider any request made to us by the French asylum authorities to take responsibility for an asylum applicant in France because they have close family in the UK in accordance with the terms of the Dublin Regulation concerning the principle of family unity and the best interests of the child. If not claiming asylum, individual migrants in France, as in any other country, are entitled to apply under the Family Reunion provisions to join relatives in the UK by making the appropriate application. Statistics for transfers of asylum applicants from France to the UK on the basis of family ties since 2013 are not routinely recorded.The UK-France Joint Declaration of 20 August 2015 committed the UK to providing £3.6 million (or €5 million) per year for two years to help support a range of work to manage the migrant population in Calais, in particular to provide support and facilities elsewhere in France. This includes increasing the frequency of communications campaigns involving British officials speaking to migrants in Calais to inform migrants of the reality of life in the UK and of their rights to claim asylum in France.The French Government has opened up new places in its asylum system, away from Calais and migrants have started to voluntarily leave Calais to take up these places. Additionally, the UK has provided £530,000 (€750,000) to fund a project to identify those in the camps at risk of trafficking and exploitation, to transfer them briskly to places of safety; and to provide them with appropriate support within the French system.Unaccompanied migrant children who apply for asylum following arrival in the UK have their details recorded by the Home Office and are issued with an Application Registration Card. There are no plans for the UK to register the details of asylum seeking children in another country as this role will fall to the relevant authorities in that country.

European Arrest Warrants

Lord Vinson: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 24 November (HL3477), what is the breakdown by category of offence of those 127 applications for a European Arrest Warrant and 40 British citizens extradited.

Lord Bates: A breakdown of the offences is set out in the table below. These only relate to the principal offences listed on the warrants, as other offences may be listed:Offences listed on EAW requests for British CitizensPrincipal offence2014-15Arson2Assault Occasioning Actual Bodily Harm5Burglary3Child Sex Offences4Counterfeit Currency2Death by Dangerous driving1Driving Whilst Disqualified1Drugs Offences33E-Crime1Evasion of Duty - over £100,0003Forgery - Not Currency3Fraud33Immigration & Human Trafficking7Money Laundering1Murder/Manslaughter5Organised Crime6Other2Parental Abduction1Possession of a Firearm1Public Order1Rape3Serious Assault/Grievous Bodily Harm5Serious Sexual Assault2Theft2Total127Offences for which British Citizens were extraditedPrincipal offence2014-15Armed Robbery1Assault Occasioning Actual Bodily Harm3Drugs Offences10Evasion of Duty - over £100,0001Fraud12Immigration & Human Trafficking3Murder/Manslaughter4Other1Rape1Serious Assault/Grievous Bodily Harm3Serious Sexual Assault1Total40

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Israel: West Bank

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel regarding the use of skunk water on children, homes, and streets, in the Qitoun neighbourhood of Hebron in November.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: While we have not raised this specific issue with the Israeli government, our Ambassador in Tel Aviv regularly raises UK concerns over the use of force by Israeli security authorities, most recently with the Director General of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 28 October. We continue to stress the need for proportionality and proper accountability.

Kamal Foroughi

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Iran concerning the case of Kamal Foroughi.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We are very concerned for Mr Foroughi’s health and have frequently raised this with the Iranian authorities, urging them to provide regular medical assistance and access to a lawyer. Iran does not recognise dual nationality, and so will not allow us consular access.The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), personally raised this case with President Rouhani in Tehran, and also with Foreign Minister Zarif. The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), has written to President Rouhani about this case. On 1 December the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood), met Mr Foroughi's family to discuss the case. We will continue to raise this with the Iranian government at every opportunity.

UN Mission in Darfur

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, as penholder on the UN mission in Darfur in the UN Security Council, the UK is pressing for the introduction of community liaison assistants who would follow the model provided by MONUSCO in the DRC and would aim to provide camp residents with support in giving their views on their protection needs.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The mandate for the African Union/UN Hybrid Mission operation in Darfur (UNAMID) will be reviewed by June 30 2016. We will continue to work to strengthen the mission, including its engagement with vulnerable communities. We will assess the effectiveness of the use of community liaison assistants in the Democratic Republic of Congo and explore whether UNAMID’s community engagement would be improved by following a similar model.

India: MV Seaman Guard Ohio

Lord Maginnis of Drumglass: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of India concerning the case of six British ex-servicemen who were members of the crew of the US ship MV Seaman Guard Ohio, and who have been held in India since 2013.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: Foreign and Commonwealth Office Ministers have raised this case at the highest levels nearly thirty times since November 2013, making clear the enormous stress and difficulty the situation has caused these men and their families.We will continue to use every opportunity to raise this case. The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), raised it most recently for the third time with Prime Minister Modi during his visit to the UK in November. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), raised the case with the Indian Minister of External Affairs at the UN General Assembly on 29 September, and Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), raised it on 24 November with Indian High Commissioner Mathai.We cannot interfere in the Indian legal process, but will continue to press for this case to be resolved.

Yemen: Military Intervention

Lord Avebury: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have investigated claims by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International that weapons supplied by the UK, such as Paveway IV missiles, have been used by Saudi Arabia to attack civilian targets in Yemen; and whether they have taken legal advice about the UK's responsibility for such attacks under international humanitarian law.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The Ministry Of Defence monitors incidents of alleged international humanitarian law (IHL) violations using available information which in turn informs our overall assessment of IHL compliance in Yemen. We consider a range of evidence from government sources, foreign governments, the media and international non-governmental organisations. We are aware of reports, including from Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, of alleged violations of IHL by the Saudi Arabian-led Coalition. We have received repeated assurances from the coalition that they are complying with IHL and we continue to engage with them on those assurances. The Saudi Arabian authorities have their own internal procedures for investigations and we encourage them to be open and transparent in this. The UK operates one of the most rigorous and transparent export control regimes in the world. All exports of arms and controlled military goods are assessed on a case-by-case basis against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing, taking account of all relevant factors at the time of the application which include consideration of the risk of the goods being used to commit violations of human rights or international humanitarian law.

Yemen: Military Intervention

Lord Avebury: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the recommendations to the UN Security Council members in the Human Rights Watch report of 26 November, What Military Target Was in My Brother's House: Unlawful Coalition Airstrikes in Yemen.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We are aware of the report released by Human Rights Watch on 26 November and its recommendations to the international community. The UN Security Council has made clear that sanctions will be applied to those individuals or entities who have been designated or listed for engaging in or providing support for acts that threaten the peace, security and stability of Yemen. We take all reports of alleged violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) in Yemen by any side to the conflict very seriously. We have raised our concerns with the Saudi Arabian government and have received assurances of IHL compliance and continue to engage with them on those assurances. We have also raised our concerns with the Houthis on the importance of compliance with IHL and international human rights law. We agree that all parties to the conflict have a responsibility to take all reasonable steps to allow and facilitate humanitarian access to facilitate immediate access to life-saving supplies both into and within Yemen. The Resolution on Yemen adopted at the September session of the Human Rights Council commits the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights to work with the Government of Yemen and produce an oral report on developments to be given at the next session in March 2016, and a written report to be published and presented to the Council in September 2016. We remain deeply concerned about the human rights situation in Yemen and will continue to work with all parties to find a political solution to the conflict.

Northern Ireland Office

Abortion: Northern Ireland

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to bring the law on abortion in Northern Ireland into line with the rest of the UK.

Lord Dunlop: Constitutionally, abortion law in Northern Ireland is a transferred matter, and is therefore the responsibility of Northern Ireland Executive Ministers.

British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly

Lord Kilclooney: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Dunlop on 1 December (HL3644), which UK members and UK associate members attended the British–Irish Parliamentary Assembly in Cheltenham on 16 and 17 November.

Lord Dunlop: The Northern Ireland Office is not responsible for the administration of the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly.However, I am advised by the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly secretariat that the following full members of the UK delegation to the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly took part in the Assembly’s plenary session held in Cheltenham from 15 to 17 November 2015:David Anderson MPLord BewBaroness BloodAndrew Bridgen MPDeidre Brock MPOliver Colvile MPLord DubsMark Durkan MPPaul Farrelly MPLord GlentoranHelen Jones MPDanny Kinahan MPRt Hon Lord MawhinneyConor McGinn MPNigel Mills MPLaurence Robertson MPAndrew Rosindell MPLord SkelmersdaleRobin Walker MP.In addition, a number of full and associate members who had initially committed to attend the plenary session withdrew at short notice.

Northern Ireland Government

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Dunlop on 24 November (HL3723 and HL3752), whether the answer includes all security service personnel who served in Northern Ireland.

Lord Dunlop: I have nothing further to add to my earlier response of 27 November 2015 (HL3723 and HL3752).

Northern Ireland Government

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Dunlop on 2 December (HL3879), whether they will publish the draft Bill for setting up the Historical Investigations Unit and other legacy bodies that was presented to political parties at those negotiations, and why they did not provide that information in that answer.

Lord Dunlop: The matter of how best to move forward and achieve broad consensus in support of legislation to establish the legacy bodies, including whether to publish the draft Bill, is currently being considered.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Minimum Wage

Lord Forsyth of Drumlean: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Neville-Rolfe on 24 November (HL3548), what are the minimum wages in each EU member state, and what is their estimate of the effect on migration of the proposed increases in the UK minimum wage.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Low Pay Commission’s National Minimum Wage Report 2015 outlines details of 2014 adult minimum wage rates in 12 comparator countries, including EU member states. Minimum wages vary in level and structure between countries given the context of their economic and labour market conditions. These comparisons are broken down in the table below.BIS has not undertaken any analysis of the effect of proposed minimum wage changes on migration. Annex 3: Comparison of Adult Minimum Wage, by Country, End 2014In national currency expressed as hourly rateaIn UK £, using:Date of last uprating% increase in national currency from 2012/2013 to 2014Age full minimum wage usually appliesbExchange ratesPPPsAustraliac AUS$16.879.378.44Jul-143.021Belgium€ 8.676.887.80Dec-120.021CanadadC$10.395.796.29e1.516France€ 9.537.548.57Jan-141.118Greece€3.52f2.733.82Feb-120.025Ireland€ 8.656.847.20Jul-11g0.020JapanhJPY7804.465.31Oct-132.015/18iNetherlands8.63j6.837.59Jul-141.223New ZealandNZ$14.257.127.05Apr-143.616Portugall € 2.912.303.33Oct-144.016Spainl€ 3.722.943.82Jan-120.016United Kingdom$6.506.506.50Oct-143.021United StatesUS$7.25m4.455.63Jul-090.020Source: British Embassies and High Commissions, Low Pay Commission (LPC) calculations of country minimum wage rates in pounds sterling using exchange rates and PPPs. PPPs derived from Comparative Price Levels (CPLs), OEDC Main Economic Indicators, September 2014. Exchange rates, Bank of England month average spot exchange rates, September 2014.Notes:a. For countries where the minimum wage is not expressed as an hourly rate, the rate has been converted to an hourly basis assuming a working time of 8 hours per day, 40 hours per week and 173.3 hours per month.b. Exemptions and special rules apply in many cases. For example, in France and the US the full adult rate applies to young workers with tenure of more than six and more than three months respectively.c. The Australian Federal National Minimum Wage Order, effective from first pay period on or after 1 July 2014.d. Weighted average of provincial/territorial rates.e. Date of last uprating varies between provinces.f. Minimum hourly rate for ‘employees’. Different hourly rate operates for ‘blue collar’ workers.g. The hourly minimum rate was reduced from €8.65 to €7.65 for adult workers on 1 Feb 2011. That reduction was reversed and the hourly rate went back up to €8.65 on 1 July 2011.h. Weighted average of prefectural rates.i. Age 15 to receive the regional minimum wage. Age 18 to receive the sectoral minimum wage.j. Excludes 8 per cent supplement for holiday pay. Minimum wage based on a 40 hour working week. There are different minimum wage rates for those working a 38 or 36 hour week.k. For all employees aged 16 and over, who are not either on the training minimum wage or the starting out minimum wage.l. Not including annual supplementary pay of two additional months of salary for full-time workers.m. Federal minimum wage. Tipped employees receive a lower minimum wage depending on state laws.

Union Learning Fund

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much money has been paid to the Union Learning Fund (1) in the past three years, and (2) in total since its inception; which trade unions were provided with assistance from the Fund last year and how much each trade union was provided with; and whether they have any plans to end those payments or assess their efficacy.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Union Learning Fund (ULF) was established in 1998 and funding has been provided by a number of different Departments. Between 1998-9 and 2006-7, around £70m of funding was allocated to support the ULF.Since 2006, the ULF has been administered by Unionlearn (the TUC's learning organisation) and by the end of this financial year around £116m in total will have been distributed to ULF projects in respect of the financial years 2007-8 to 2015-16 of which £36.4m is in the last three of those years.An independently chaired ULF Assessment Panel recently reviewed a number of bids from unions for ULF grants for 2016-17. The Department for Business, Innovation & Skills is currently finalising internal budgets following the spending review and will confirm the amount that is available for the 2016-17 financial year in early 2016.The total amount of funding received by all trade unions from the ULF for the financial year 2014-15 is set out in the table below.Name of trade unionFunding received in 2014-15Aegis230,981Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen299,116Association of Teachers and Lecturers192,269Broadcasting, Entertainment, Cinematograph and Theatre Union123,354Bakers and Allied Food Workers Union378,382Britannia Staff Union130,480Community235,434Communication Workers Union380,421Equity119,500Fire Brigades Union512,462GMB (Yorkshire and Humberside)429,749GMB (North West)298,990GMB (South)620,522National Association of Stable Staff76,200Public and Commercial Services Union912,996Professional Footballers' Association236,072Prison Officers' Association704,768Royal College of Midwives219,380Royal College of Nurses205,738National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers509,844Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists251,675Transport Salaried Staffs' Association350,800Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians217,743University and College Union79,289UFS134,353UNISON (North)421,324UNISON (National)660,011UNITE1,880,000Unity52,078United Road Transport Union161,773Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers716,985Staff Union West Bromwich Building Society65,809

Tumble Driers: Safety

Baroness Byford: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with industry about the safety of tumble driers, in the light of recent reports by Which?.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: I am aware of the recent safety alert in relation to certain brands and models of tumble drier and understand that the manufacturer concerned is working with Trading Standards to take appropriate corrective action.My officials are in regular contact with industry about the safety of electrical products, including tumble driers. Officials are also regularly in contact with their opposite numbers in other Member States to discuss safety issues and with those involved in standardisation, for example the British Standards Institution, where standards are updated to reflect advances in technology and problems identified with products in service.

Technology and Innovation Centres

Lord Allen of Kensington: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of Innovate UK's catapult networks.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: This Government is committed to the Catapult network and has prioritised core funding support for the network in the recent Spending Review. It has already expanded the network by announcing, in July, that a Medicines Technologies Catapult would be established and developed at Alderley Park in Cheshire.Innovate UK will be publishing its revised Strategy for 2016-20 in the spring and this will set out plans for evaluation of the Catapult network.

Department for International Development

West Bank: Economic Situation

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking, and advocating to others, in order to boost Palestinian economic activity in Zones B and C of the occupied West Bank.

Earl of Courtown: DFID is promoting economic development which is vital for Palestinian development. We are providing £15 million (2013-2019) through the Palestinian Market Development Programme (PMDP) which seeks to improve the competitiveness of 570 Palestinian businesses and address market failures. So far 190 firms in the West Bank including Areas A, B, and C have been assisted and were able to develop 117 products and enter 63 new markets. Through the UN FAO, DFID has helped vulnerable rural farmers in Area C support their families through increased incomes from agricultural production. We also continue to fund the development of Palestinian outline plans to improve Palestinian communities’ access to services in Area C.The UK remains deeply concerned about the impact of Israeli restrictions on the movement of people and goods, which continue to be the main impediment to sustainable economic growth in the Occupied Palestinian Territories including Area B and C. We have consistently called on Israel to improve movement and access in the OPTs, including in visits by the Minister of State for International Development and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. We fund advisers to support the work of the Office of the Quartet (OQ) on easing movement and access restrictions in the OPTs and to improve the environment for businesses operating there.

West Bank: Land

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will support the World Bank programme for the registration of Palestinian land titles in the West Bank.

Earl of Courtown: Land registration is a key enabler for investments in the Occupied Palestinian Territories especially for construction and housing sector development. Only 30% of land in the West Bank is currently registered compared to 98% of land in Gaza.DFID is part of the collective donor effort led by the World Bank and Finland to support the Palestinian Authority on land registration. The UK continues to urge the Palestinian Authority to speed up the land registration processes.

Department for Education

Schools: Homophobia

Lord Lexden: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their latest assessment of the extent of homophobic bullying in schools.

Lord Nash: All forms of bullying, including homophobic bullying, are completely unacceptable. In order to tackle homophobic bullying in schools we are providing £2 million this financial year to fund projects designed to build schools’ knowledge and capacity to prevent and tackle homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying in schools.While evidence points to a high level of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender young people being subjected to bullying, it also indicates that thanks to the efforts of teachers and charities it is falling. Research undertaken by Stonewall shows that homophobic bullying has reduced in recent years - 55% of Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual secondary school pupils reported experiencing homophobic bullying at school in 2012, a drop from 65% in 2007 (Stonewall School Report, 2007 and 2012). The Stonewall Report of 2014 also indicated that homophobic bullying has fallen. The number of secondary school teachers who said their pupils are often or very often the victim of homophobic bullying had almost halved, from 25 per cent in 2009 to 13 per cent in 2014 (Stonewall Teacher Report, 2014 and 2009).

Pupils: Bullying

Lord Ouseley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many acts of reported bullying were recorded in schools during each of the past three academic years.

Lord Nash: All bullying is unacceptable and schools must have measures in place to address it. The Department does not collect information on the number of acts of reported bullying recorded in schools. Ofsted does, however, hold schools accountable for their effectiveness in tackling bullying.In 2015-16, the Department is providing £3.3m to charitable organisations to tackle bullying and to provide support for those who are bullied. This is on top of the £4m provided in 2013-15.The Longitudinal Study of Young Peoplein England (LSYPE), which was published in November 2015, compared bullying among two cohorts of 14 year olds (year 10 students) from 2004 and 2014. The study found that 30,000 fewer pupils said they had been bullied in the last twelve months in 2014. This represented a drop from 41 per cent in 2004 to 36 per cent in 2014.The Department does publish information on the number of permanent and fixed period exclusions due to bullying in the “Statistics: exclusions” series. This information has been provided in the table below.Table 1: The number of permanent and fixed period exclusions due to bullying in state-funded primary, secondary and special schools (1)(2)(3)(4)2011/122012/132013/14Permanent exclusions404030Fixed period exclusions4,4903,9203,3601. State-funded primary schools include all primary academies, including free schools. Includes middle schools as deemed.2. State-funded secondary schools include city technology colleges and all secondary academies, including all-through academies and free schools. Includes middle schools as deemed.3. Special schools include maintained special schools, non-maintained special schools and special academies. Excludes general hospital schools.4. Totals have been rounded to the nearest 10.

Schools: Aldgate

The Earl of Clancarty: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Nash on 2 December (HL3697) regarding the sale of 41–71 Commercial Road, Aldgate, for which school the site will be developed; and whether that school will use the entire site.

Lord Nash: The school site has been leased back to the university until August 2016. This allows the EFA to develop the site in time for a school to open there in September 2017.

Ministry of Justice

Department for Constitutional Affairs: Disclosure of Information

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what non-disclosure agreements the Department for Constitutional Affairs made in 2003–04, and on what date each agreement was made.

Lord Faulks: The information requested is not held centrally.The Ministry of Justice is the successor department to the Department for Constitutional Affairs. Searches have been conducted for the information requested. These searches have revealed no trace of any records that relate to such non-disclosure agreements, nor any references to records that were held previously and destroyed.

Ministry of Defence

Army: Political Activities

Lord Clark of Windermere: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what restrictions there are on army officers being selected by a political party as a candidate for an elected post, such as police and crime commissioner.

Earl Howe: Members of the regular Armed Forces of the Crown are disqualified from membership of the House of Commons by the House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975 and from election to the European Parliament by the European Parliamentary Act 1978. Such personnel must therefore apply for permission to retire voluntarily or resign or be granted a free discharge from the Service before their formal adoption as a Parliamentary candidate or prospective candidate. Such personnel must complete their last day of service before their formal adoption as a candidate or prospective candidate.No regular Service personnel or members of the Reserve Forces when serving on a full time Service commitment or additional duties commitment shall issue an address to electors or in any other manner publicly announce themselves or allow themselves to be publicly announced as a candidate or a prospective candidate for election to:UK Parliament, European Parliament, Scottish Parliament or Parliament of the Irish Republic for any Parliamentary constituency;the Northern Ireland Assembly or the National Assembly for Wales for any Assembly constituency;any legislative assembly of the Commonwealth; or as aPolice and Crime Commissioner.Any person to whom this applies and who desires to stand as a candidate or who seeks election as described above must make an application through normal Service channels to retire voluntarily or to resign or to be granted a free discharge. Such an application should be made as early as possible. Approval of an application will depend on the exigencies of the Service. On leaving the Service, an unsuccessful candidate will have no right to reinstatement. A candidate or prospective candidate must take all steps within his power to ensure that no public announcement of his candidature is made before he has retired, resigned or been discharged.

Nuclear Submarines

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when construction of the first new SSBN ballistic missile submarine will start at Barrow.

Earl Howe: Whole Boat construction of the first Successor submarine is expected to begin in 2016 subject to the programme's investment decision

HMS Ajax

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect HMS Ajax to be launched at Barrow.

Earl Howe: Boat 7, yet to be named, is expected to be launched in the 2020s.

Astute Class Submarines

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the build time for HMS Agamemnon and HMS Ajax will be shorter than that planned for HMS Anson.

Earl Howe: The build time for the Astute class submarines has reduced with every boat built to date. HMS Agamemnon and the yet to be named Boat 7 are both at a very early stage of construction. However, as published in the National Audit Office Major Projects Report 2015, their expected operational handover dates are May 2022 and March 2024 respectively.

Astute Class Submarines

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to building a further Astute-class submarine after HMS Anson to fill the gap in the building programme at Barrow.

Earl Howe: None. Strategic Defence and Security Review 10 established a coherent build programme through Astute hulls 1-7 (Anson is hull 5) into Successor hulls 1-4. That remains the plan. There is no gap in the build programme.

Armed Forces: Mesothelioma

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they intend to assist members of the armed forces who are diagnosed with mesothelioma in the future; and what assessment they have made of whether those individuals should receive financial support at least equivalent to that of civilians diagnosed with the disease.

Earl Howe: In the UK it is the National Health Service (NHS) that is responsible for the provision of healthcare to veterans including those diagnosed with mesothelioma. Veterans in England, Scotland and Wales are entitled to receive priority access to NHS secondary healthcare for conditions suspected to be due to their service in the UK Armed Forces, subject to the clinical needs of all patients.Veterans are able to access support from the Ministry of Defence (MOD) through Veterans UK, part of MOD’s Defence Business Services, which provides a package of welfare support for veterans through a free helpline, website and national Veterans Welfare Service. Veterans UK also administer compensation payments for ill health or injury suffered while serving in the Armed Forces through the War Pensions Scheme (WPS) and Armed Forces Compensation Scheme.The Department commissioned advice from the Independent Medical Expert Group to look at mesothelioma and the awards paid through the WPS. Following this, officials have considered what options there might be to offer any flexibility for those who will claim in the future under the WPS. This is a complex matter which has required detailed consideration and involved close consultation with our colleagues across Whitehall.The Minister for Defence Personnel and Veterans (Mark Lancaster) announced during the Adjournment Debate, in the House of Commons on mesothelioma compensation on 19 November 2015 (Official Report, columns 929-936) that he intends to make an announcement regarding the matter of lump sum payments as soon as possible. We will update ex-Service organisations at the forthcoming Central Advisory Committee on Compensation in December.

Syria: Armed Conflict

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government from which sources they derive their claim that there are 70,000 Syrian ground troops available to fight ISIL; what assessment they have made of whether that figure is correct; and what is their assessment of the statement by General Sir Richard Shirreff that that force would be incapable of liberating a city of 350,000, such as Raqqa.

Earl Howe: I refer the noble Lord to the answer given by my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, in the House of Commons on 1 December 2015 to Question 17826 and have nothing further to add.



Syria Armed Conflict
(Word Document, 15.62 KB)

Middle East: Military Intervention

Lord Moonie: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many UK military personnel are currently forward deployed in support of operations in the Middle East.

Earl Howe: There are over 2,000 military personnel deployed to the Middle East supporting military operations and the UK military presence in the Gulf.

Middle East: Military Intervention

Lord Moonie: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much ordnance has been released by UK armed forces over the Middle East this year, and what plans they have to order replacement stocks.

Earl Howe: From 1 January 2015 to 3 December 2015 the UK Armed Forces released 589 weapons in support of operations in the Middle East. All were targeted against Daesh in Iraq and Syria.Munitions stockpiles are sufficient to support operational demand. Stockpiles are determined through an ongoing process which links industrial capacity to Defence requirements to ensure adequate replenishment of stocks.

Middle East: Military Intervention

Lord Moonie: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what additional costs have been incurred as a consequence of activities by UK armed forces in the Middle East in this financial year, and whether those costs will be funded by contingencies or from additional funds provided by HM Treasury.

Earl Howe: The additional costs that have been incurred as a consequence of activities by UK Armed Forces in the Middle East to date this Financial Year are currently estimated at £102.1 million. This includes Counter Daesh in Iraq and Syria, and Defence activity in the wider Gulf region. These additional costs have been met from the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund, the Deployed Military Activity Pool and the HM Treasury Special Reserve.

Middle East: Military Intervention

Lord Moonie: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many manned and unmanned sorties have been flown by the RAF this year in support of operations in the Middle East.

Earl Howe: The RAF has flown 1,490 manned and 828 unmanned sorties in support of operations in the Middle East from 1 January 2015 to 30 November 2015. These sorties were carried out by ISR aircraft, C-130 transport aircraft, Tornado GR4s and Reaper Remotely Piloted Air Systems.These numbers do not include the routine air-bridge that operates twice weekly from the UK to the Middle East to support deployment of personnel and equipment.

Cyprus: Military Bases

Lord Kilclooney: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many refugees have penetrated security at the sovereign base of Akrotiri in the past two months; how many of those refugees remain on that base; and where those refugees who are no longer on that base have gone.

Earl Howe: 115 migrants arrived by boat at RAF Akrotiri on 21 October 2015. None penetrated the robust and established security measures we have in place to protect the base. The migrants came under the control of the Sovereign Base Area Administration as soon as they set foot on shore and at no point were they near any secure facilities within the base. Operational activity was not affected.All of the migrants were transferred from RAF Akrotiri on 27 October 2015 to a specially prepared transit facility in the Eastern Sovereign Base Area of Dhekelia outside of the military garrison.As at 4 December 2015, 54 migrants are accommodated in the transit facility, one is held within HMP Dhekelia and 60 have transferred to reception centres in the Republic of Cyprus.

Department for Work and Pensions

Children: Poverty

Baroness Lister of Burtersett: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many of those responding to the 2012 consultation Measuring Child Poverty supported the exclusion of any income measure; and whether they will name those organisations that supported the exclusion.

Lord Freud: The Government’s response to the consultation on new measures of child poverty can be found in Annex E of the attached document. The analysis of the results in 2013 recorded that two respondents to the consultation said income should not be included in a measure of child poverty.We cannot give the names of the respondents due to Data Protection Act requirements. However, one was from an academic organisation and the other was from a frontline service.The Government wants to focus future effort on tackling the root causes of child poverty. That is why the life chances provisions in the Welfare Reform and Work Bill will introduce new measures of worklessness and educational attainment, and why we have committed ourselves to introducing a set of non-statutory indicators including ones on family breakdown, problem debt and addiction. These measures will focus action on the areas which the evidence indicates will make a sustainable difference to children’s lives - now and in the future.



Consultaion on Child Poverty Strategy
(PDF Document, 3.32 MB)

Social Security Benefits

Lord Campbell-Savours: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they plan to announce the detail of their proposals for £12 billion in savings on the welfare budget; and what benefits are under consideration for further reduction.

Lord Freud: The Government’s commitment to save £12bn from welfare spending was set out at the Summer Budget and the recent Autumn Statement. Details of these measures can be found at pages 72-73 of the Summer Budget Report (July 2015) and page 113 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015. These are published on gov.uk.Any future changes to benefits following the Spending Review announcement will follow the usual policy development process and be announced at a future fiscal event.

Housing Benefit: Tower Hamlets

Baroness King of Bow: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, following their failure to notify Tower Hamlets Council that Housing Benefit claimants had been migrated to Universal Credit, how many claimants have been overpaid Housing Benefit by that Council, and what action has been taken to ensure any overpayment recovery action is financially sustainable for those claimants.

Lord Freud: DWP is aware of issues raised by Tower Hamlets Council. The Department’s housing costs team have contacted Tower Hamlets to ask for examples so the Department can look into their concerns.

Social Security Benefits

Baroness King of Bow: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have undertaken research to establish the number of households likely to be affected by the Benefit Cap in each local authority area.

Lord Freud: The Government set out its assessment of the impacts of the policies in the Welfare Reform and Work Bill on 20th July. These are available on the Parliament website.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Rights of Way

Baroness Byford: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Natural England Stakeholder Working Group on Unrecorded Public Rights of Way, when considering the diversion or extinguishment of paths that pass through gardens, farmyards or businesses, have agreed to the use of the term "presumption" in either the heading or the introduction to the guidance.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: The Stakeholder Working Group is currently working on a final version of the guidance on making it easier to divert and extinguish public rights of way that pass through gardens, farmyards or commercial businesses. Once there is an agreed version we will also carry out further consultation with other interested parties on the wording to ensure we produce both clear and effective guidance..

Rights of Way

Baroness Byford: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many cases of diversion or extinguishment of paths that pass through gardens, farmyards or business remain outstanding.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: We aim to make it easier to divert or extinguish paths that pass through gardens, farmyards or commercial businesses through the Stakeholder Working Group’s reform package. Local Authorities handle the actual diversion and extinguishment orders and therefore hold the relevant information on the number of outstanding applications. The Government does not collect this information.

Rights of Way

Baroness Byford: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the public rights of way elements of the Deregulation Act 2015, including guidance, will be implemented.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: The primary legislation needed to implement the Stakeholder Working Group rights of way reforms package was enacted in the Deregulation Act 2015. We are consulting with the Stakeholder Working Group and other interested parties on the various sets of regulations and guidance needed to complete the reform package. It is planned that all the legislation and guidance will be commenced on the same date. We are on schedule to meet our target of implementation in spring 2016.

Agriculture: Subsidies

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether basic farm payment applications on paper for 2016 will continue to be accepted.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: For 2016 we will look to offer an online Basic Payment Scheme application process with online transfers of entitlements and land. There will be a paper application for those that need it.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Fire Services

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 24 November (HL3768), how local support for Police and Crime Commissioners to take responsibility for fire and rescue services in their areas will be assessed.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The recent consultation on enabling closer working between the emergency services detailed the proposed process for assessing local support where a Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) is seeking to take responsibility for fire and rescue services. This includes a requirement for the PCC to consult locally and, where the PCC and relevant local authorities are not in agreement, Ministers may seek an independent assessment on the merits of transferring fire and rescue to the PCC before making a decision.The Government is still considering the responses to the consultation before the proposals can be finalised. The Government’s response to the consultation will be published in due course.

Homelessness

Baroness Suttie: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to take steps to ensure that the Homelessness Prevention Grant continues after its current funding ends.

Baroness Suttie: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what recent discussions they have had with stakeholders about the implementation of a monitoring system to track how the Homelessness Prevention Grant is spent.

Baroness Suttie: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to bring forward proposals to develop a funding formula in order to allocate the Homelessness Prevention Grant to local authorities based on the extent of homelessness and rough sleeping, including the number of people at risk of homelessness, in their area.

Baroness Suttie: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to take steps to increase the Homelessness Prevention Grant, in the light of the reported increase in the number of rough sleepers.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Decisions around locally funded services will be set out in the provisional Local Government Settlement, which we intend to announce before recess.Local authority expenditure on homelessness is recorded in the Revenue Outturn tables which are published annually (attached) and available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/478073/Revenue_Outturn__RO4__data_2014-15_by_LA_-_19-Nov-2015.xlsNational homelessness statistics record detailed information on local housing authority homelessness activity. This includes the number of homelessness households, how many had their homelessness prevented and also the reason for the loss of their last settled home.



Revenue Outturn table
(Excel SpreadSheet, 2.84 MB)

National Infrastructure Commission

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they can consult the National Infrastructure Commission on applications for planning consent for nationally significant infrastructure projects, and if so, whether they will consult the Commission regarding such applications, and what criteria they would use in deciding whether to do so.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The National Infrastructure Commission is not currently consulted on nationally significant infrastructure projects, but the Government will consider carefully any request by the Commission to do so.

Social Services: Finance

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the ability to raise council tax by up to 2 per cent to fund social care applies to districts that are not social care authorities, and if so, on what services the resulting income can be spent.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The two percent council tax flexibility has been offered for authorities with adult social care responsibilities, for all years of the Spending Review, provided that they use the additional funding for adult social care. The flexibility does not apply to non-metropolitan district councils. Details of how the two percent flexibility will operate will be confirmed alongside the provisional local government finance settlement in due course.

Small Businesses: Non-domestic Rates

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effect on high streets of ending small business rate relief.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Chancellor announced at the Autumn Statement that the doubling of Small Business Rate Relief will continue for a further year and therefore apply for the whole of 2016-17. Approximately 600,000 properties are benefitting, with 400,000 paying no business rates at all.

Regeneration: Greater London

Baroness King of Bow: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will place in the Library of the House a copy of the research by Savills into the opportunities for estate regeneration in London, commissioned by the Number 10 Policy Unit.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: A copy of the report by Savills into the opportunities for estate regeneration in Central London will be made available in the Library of the House once published.

Regeneration: Greater London

Baroness King of Bow: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the research by Savills into the opportunities for estate regeneration, commissioned by the Number 10 Policy Unit, was contracted through an open tendering process.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The research into the opportunities for estate regeneration across London was a result of general discussions with Savills and the Number 10 Policy Unit, which led to an approach by Savills to complete this work. The Number 10 Policy Unit commissioned this work as a single tender.

Housing Estates: Regeneration

Baroness King of Bow: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much of the £150 million funding made available for the regeneration of local authority housing estates has been made available to each of the successful schemes.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Shortlisted schemes are currently undergoing due diligence. Subject to this, we expect contracts to be signed in this financial year and the full £150 million to be committed. The final amount for each scheme is yet to be confirmed.

Circle Housing

Baroness King of Bow: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they have taken in response to the Homes and Communities Agency's decision to downgrade Circle Housing Group's governance rating from G1 to G3 following its failure to manage properly its Repair and Maintenance Contract with the Kier Group.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Social Housing Regulator has a clear regulatory framework which it used in this case. As is normal practice the Social Housing Regulator is working closely with Circle as it continues to recover its repair service and improves its governance. The Regulator currently has sufficient assurance of Circle’s intention to address the issues and its progress in doing so, such that the Regulator considers it does not need to apply enforcement powers at this point. The Regulator will of course continue to examine new information that comes to light.

HM Treasury

Electronic Commerce: VAT

Lord Lucas: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord O’Neill of Gatley on 17 November (HL3227), what discussion HMRC has had with Trading Standards about VAT fraud among online traders operating from abroad; on what dates they held those discussions; by what medium; and with what outcome.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: HM Revenue and Customs is engaging with Trading Standards, both bi-laterally and through cross-government groups, to establish a coordinated response to VAT fraud by online traders operating from abroad. Additionally, HMRC has on-going policy and operational exchanges with Trading Standards via various media including face-to-face meeting, e-mail and telephone, sharing information and intelligence in line with established information gateways.

Dunfermline Building Society

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the current level of HM Treasury's outstanding statutory debt in relation to the Dunfermline Building Society; how much has been paid by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme towards that debt; and whether any assets have been retrieved or sold since the Society went into administration.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: In March 2009, Dunfermline Building Society (DBS) was entered into special administration under the Banking Act 2009. As part of the resolution, HM Treasury provided just under £1.6 billion to enable the transfer of the core DBS business to Nationwide Building Society. The remainder of DBS is currently being wound-down by KPMG affiliated administrators.Most of the estate has been wound-down and the remaining commercial book is expected to run-off over the next 1-2 years, at which point the administration will be complete. In 2014, the remaining residential mortgage portfolio was sold by the administrators to Arbuthnot Latham and Co. As of 31 March 2015, HM Treasury has received just over £1 billion from the DBS estate.The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 ‘Contribution Regulations’ allow the Treasury to recover any shortfall from the estate from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), subject to a cap, via an interim levy on industry. In October 2014, the FSCS made the first payment to HM Treasury with respect to DBS, of £100 million.HMT expects to recover the amount in full.

Cabinet Office

Internet: Fraud

Lord Birt: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 2 November (HL2691), when they expect to be able to collect reliable data on the incidence and cost of internet fraud; and whether they will publish that information.

Lord Bridges of Headley: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA referral letter
(PDF Document, 133.73 KB)

Electronic Government: Hacking

Lord Birt: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bridges of Headley on 23 November (HL3395), how many breaches of government websites there were in 2014 where no national security considerations apply.

Lord Bridges of Headley: For security reasons we do not comment on specific details of cyber security attacks. GCHQ typically responds to an average of 70 sophisticated attacks on government networks per quarter.

Elections: Expenditure

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will consider amending electoral law to provide for and require the amounts and details of parliamentary candidates' election expenses to be published online, and whether this could be implemented voluntarily in the meantime.

Lord Bridges of Headley: Electoral legislation sets out the process for publicising the details and amounts of candidates’ election expenses; election expenses are made available for two years after they are submitted.Current electoral law does not expressly require candidates’ election expenses to be published online, but nor is this expressly excluded.The Law Commission has raised the matter of online publication of this information in their review of electoral law. This review is on-going and we are awaiting the recommendations of the Law Commission before consideration is given to further legislation in respect of this matter.The Government is therefore not persuaded of the need to change legislation at this time.

Department of Health

Health: Finance

Baroness Gould of Potternewton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the costs to the NHS of the £200 million reduction in the Public Health Grant to local authorities for 2015–16.

Lord Prior of Brampton: Local authorities are best placed to make an assessment of local public health needs, and to prioritise and deploy their available resources accordingly, in partnership with the National Health Service. The NHS will continue to provide a vital role in the delivery of public health services.

Health: Finance

Baroness Gould of Potternewton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effect of the £200 million reduction in the Public Health Grant to local authorities for 2015–16 on (1) teenage pregnancy rates, and (2) rates of unintended pregnancy.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The under-18 conception rate is an indicator within the Public Health Outcomes Framework and we continue to see a sustained reduction in teenage pregnancy, improved detection of sexually transmitted infections, and increasing access to the more effective long acting contraception.

Genito-urinary Medicine

Baroness Gould of Potternewton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they define open access in the context of mandatory open-access sexual health services.

Lord Prior of Brampton: Local authorities are mandated by legislation to commission open access sexual health services for everyone present in their area; this includes free testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections and notification of sexual partners of infected persons; and free contraception, and reasonable access to all methods of contraception.

Diabetes

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether the current emphasis by NHS Choices on starchy foods such as potatoes, cereals, pasta, rice and bread products for people with diabetes, or who are pre-diabetic, is based on sufficiently rigorous evidence.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Government takes a whole population approach to healthy eating, and therefore does not provide specific dietary advice to individuals with medical needs. It is recommended for anyone with a medical condition in search of dietary advice to consult their local general practitioner or a dietician.In July 2015, the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) published its report on Carbohydrates and Health, a review of the latest evidence on dietary carbohydrates and health. This included a review of the evidence on incidence of type 2 diabetes as well as a number of pre-diabetic markers and carbohydrate consumption. SACN continue to recommend that total carbohydrate, which includes starchy foods, should provide approximately 50% total dietary energy. They also advised reducing sugar consumption, increasing fibre consumption and minimising consumption of sugars-sweetened drinks. A copy of the report is attached.Following publication, advice on what constitutes a healthy balanced diet for the general population, including those with diabetes, was updated on the NHS Choices website reflecting SACN’s recommendations.



Carbohydrates and Health
(PDF Document, 2.39 MB)

Action on Smoking and Health

Lord Naseby: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the job titles of those officials within the Department of Health currently assessing the application for grant funding made by Action on Smoking and Health.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The assessment of the grant application for funding from Action on Smoking and Health is undertaken by members of the Tobacco Control policy team.

Action on Smoking and Health

Lord Naseby: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will place in the Library of the House a copy of all audits undertaken or commissioned by the Department of Health into Action on Smoking and Health.

Lord Prior of Brampton: In financial year 2012/13, the Department grant awarded to Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) (under Section 64 of the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968) was included in a sample of grants that was reviewed in an internal audit of the grant management arrangements of the Department. The audit included visits to the charities that formed part of the sample to test the information they provided to the Department and to garner their views on how the Department engaged with them. ASH was included in the work because its grant fulfilled the sample criteria.The internal audit was not a review of the organisation and the way that it operated, its focus was on the Department grant management. It found that, at the time, there were satisfactory arrangements in place in the Department. The audit report did not raise any adverse comments about ASH or include any recommendations in relation to them. It is not normal practice to place copies of Internal Audit reports in the Library.

Atrial Fibrillation: Screening

Baroness Masham of Ilton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to promote opportunistic screening for atrial fibrillation.

Baroness Masham of Ilton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to improve the diagnosis of atrial fibrillation.

Baroness Masham of Ilton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of how many strokes related to atrial fibrillation could be prevented each year through the roll-out of GRASP-AF in primary care.

Baroness Masham of Ilton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to promote the implementation of NICE guidance on prescribing anticoagulants for the prevention of strokes related to atrial fibrillation.

Lord Prior of Brampton: NHS England is encouraging clinical commissioning groups to work with local practices to target people at risk of atrial fibrillation (AF). Innovative approaches such as pulse testing at flu clinics and by some dentists are being used to identify AF in older people. The NHS Health Check programme’s best practice guidance also recommends a pulse check is carried out as part of the process of taking a blood pressure reading. People found to have an irregular pulse rhythm should be referred to the general practitioner for further investigation.The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published an updated guideline on AF in June 2014. This offers evidence-based advice on the care and treatment of people with AF and includes recommendations on diagnosis. In July 2015 NICE also published a quality standard on AF.In addition to its clinical guideline on AF, NICE has published technology appraisal guidance on a number of new oral anticoagulants (NOACs), approving them for certain patients.There is a legal requirement on commissioners to provide funding for treatments and drugs recommended in NICE technology appraisal guidance within three months of the guidance being published.This is enshrined in the NHS Constitution as a right to NICE-approved drugs.A consensus statement by the NICE Implementation Collaborative was published alongside NICE’s updated guideline in June 2014. This addresses some of the barriers to implementing NICE’s recommendations on prescribing NOACs.The need to reduce variation and strengthen compliance of the uptake of NICE technology appraisals was identified in Innovation Health and Wealth, published in December 2011. In response, NHS England and the Health and Social Care Information Centre now publishes on a quarterly basis an Innovation Scorecard to enable commissioners to benchmark their own position and increase transparency to patients and the public. This assists the NHS in the identification of variation and the adoption of treatments such as NOACs that are recommended in NICE technology appraisals. In addition, NHS England advises that it expects practitioners to consider anticoagulant treatments in line with NICE guidelines.Some progress is being made. The uptake of NOACs across England has doubled in recent years from 45,708 per 100,000 of the resident population in 2013-14 to 126,845 in 2014-15.No assessment has been made of the number of strokes related to AF could be prevented each year through the roll-out of Guidance on Risk Assessment and Stroke Prevention for Atrial Fibrillation in primary care. However, in 2014, an economic analysis estimated that if all eligible patients at high risk were managed according to the NICE AF guidelines, an additional 11,600 AF related strokes per year could be avoided.Copies of the guidance referred to have been placed in the Library.

Smoking

Lord Palmer: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the link between rates of smoking prevalence and the level of tobacco control, as measured by the OECD.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Government considers international comparisons of tobacco control produced by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and other organisations, such as Joossens and Raw’s Tobacco Control Scale in Europe, which ranks the United Kingdom as number one in tobacco control activity of 34 European countries.

WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control

Lord Palmer: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what legal basis the WHO's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control has in English law.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control is an international treaty establishing general guidelines and principles for international governance on tobacco control. The United Kingdom ratified the Treaty in 2004 and takes its obligations under the Convention very seriously.

WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control

Lord Palmer: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Department of Health has sought independent legal advice in respect of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, and if so, whether they will place a copy of that advice in the Library of the House.

Lord Prior of Brampton: Any legal advice the Department may have obtained in respect of this, or any other issue, is subject to the usual provisions relating to legal professional privilege and as such will not be disclosed.

WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control

Lord Palmer: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which contracts awarded by the Department of Health have conditions within them relating to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, and in each case, whether legal advice was taken before the issuing of that tender.

Lord Prior of Brampton: The Government takes its obligations as a Party to the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) very seriously, including the obligation to protect public health policy from the vested interests of the tobacco industry.The Department considers the detail of Invitation to Tender (ITT) and contract documentation, including the legal aspects, on a case by case basis. The standard documentation includes a requirement to declare actual or potential conflicts of interest and some ITTs make specific reference to FCTC obligations.This issue is considered as part of the evaluation process and through the contract monitoring process as appropriate.